Cal State
Bakersfield limited Valparaiso to just four hits on Tuesday afternoon as the
Roadrunners defeated the Crusaders 9-0 in the opening game of a two-game
midweek series at Hardt Field in Bakersfield, Calif.

“The pitching we are
seeing out here in California is unlike anything I’ve ever seen day in and day
out since I’ve been here,” head coach Tracy
Woodson said. “They are throwing 88
to 90 every day. This should really help
us when we get back to the Midwest though, as we are getting good swings and
hitting the ball hard.”

The Roadrunners took
advantage of 10 walks, three hit batsmen, and two wild pitches from Valpo
pitchers and scored eight times in the first four innings to break the game
open.

Bakersfield opened
with five runs in the first. Three
straight walks after a leadoff single plated the first run followed and a
single by Oscar Sanay added a second run.
DC Legg added a two-run double and, adding in a sacrifice fly, the
Roadrunners opened a 5-0 lead.

The Roadrunners
added two more runs in the third without a hit. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases
before a fielder’s choice and wild pitch plated the runs.

The hosts added an
unearned run in the fourth and their final run in the sixth to take the opener
of the series.

Brandon Van Dam went
six innings for the win (2-0) for Bakersfield, allowing just two hits and
walking two while striking out three. Cyrus Wimberly (Rockford, Ill./Guilford
H.S.), making his first collegiate start, suffered the loss (0-2), allowing
seven runs on just three hits in 2.2 innings.
He walked six and fanned two.

Will Hagel (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.), Tuesday’s starting pitcher
for the Crusaders, had two of Valpo’s four hits to lead the Brown and Gold
offense.

Andrew Letourneau
had the only multi-hit game for the Roadrunners, while Legg and Stuart Smith
each drove home two runs.

Valparaiso (1-7) and
Cal State Bakersfield (6-2) will wrap up their brief two-game series on
Wednesday afternoon at Hardt Field with the first pitch slated for 4 p.m. CST.